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August 20, 2006
Sinagpore Steam
This is me trying to deal with a regular keyboard (rather than the sensible ergonomic keyboard at home), along with a screaming headache, steamy humidity, and quite full-on security measures here at Changi
Airport. Right now we're waiting for our connecting flight to LA, in one hour's time. From here in the gate lounge, I have a brilliant view of enormous aircraft parked at other gates, which greatly appeals to the plane geek in me.
The scale of this place is hard to contain in one's head--and yet it all works extremely smoothly.
Michelle and I have been up since 3am Perth time, and right now it's 3:10pm Singapore time (also Perth time). I've had two hours sleep, and feel wiped out quite apart from the headache and the humidity. Blagh.
Not sure how we're going to cope with the 16+ hours it'll take us to reach LA. At such times the classic sf reader in me longs for some kind of suspended animation thingy.
More later.
Posted by adrian at 03:10 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
August 19, 2006
Counting Down
Right now, at 3:12pm Saturday the 19th, we're just a matter of hours before we head out for the airport. Things are lively. And what with the increased focus on security in recent days, we're freaking out a bit, but trying to keep busy. It seems like there's a million little things to take care of before we call for the taxi.
During the convention I don't know if I'll have any Internet access. I'm told there will be an Internet lounge featuring several computers, etc, but experience with these things tells me they will be occupied round the clock, and with a queue stretching out the door. Dang. Then again, maybe so many folks will have laptops of their own the public machines will actually be available some of the time, in which case I'll try to post about how things are going.
I will try to check my mail, but I would urge folks who want/need to contact me while we're away to use my gmail address, which is:
adrian dot bedford at gmail dot com
We should be back in Perth by 2 September, thoroughly fried.
Wish us luck!
Posted by adrian at 03:21 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
August 02, 2006
Author Boy's Worldcon Schedule
LA Con IV is but three weeks away. Things are getting tense and exciting. Our last-minute preparations are just about all sorted. One of the last items that needed sorting out was my schedule during the convention, and that turned up yesterday. I've now had to adjust a couple of items, so what we're left with is the following...
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Panel 1: Wed 8/23 4:00 PM, 60-90 minutes.
Title: MIX & MATCH WRITING CHALLENGE
Participants: John Barnes
Peter S. Beagle
K. A. Bedford
Valerie Estelle Frankel
David D. Levine(M)
Precis: Authors are presented with a character description for a
well-known character, the setting of a (different) famous
work, and a brief plot description of still another work.
Without knowing their sources, they create and tell a story
on the fly. After the sources are revealed, the audience
votes on who did best. (Think Frodo in a tale set in 1920s
New York about a young wizard-in-training who must compete
in a great competition of wizards, only to be captured by
his arch-nemesis... )
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Panel 3: Thu 8/24 2:30 PM, 60-90 minutes.
Title: GETTING STARTED WRITING SF -- PART I
Participants: Jean-Noel Bassior
K. A. Bedford
Hilari Bell
Michael S. Brotherton(M)
Brenda Cooper
Precis: Going from amateur to professional is a big step. How do
you get started? Should you write every day, whether the
muse strikes or not? What mistakes shouldn't you make?
Writers who have recently broken in will give you their
advice today. Editors and others will advise in Part II on
Friday.
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Panel 4: Thu 8/24 5:00 PM, 60 minutes.
Title: AUTOGRAPHING: K. A. Bedford
Participants: K. A. Bedford [adrian.bedford@gmail.com]
Precis:
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Panel 5: Fri 8/25 11:30 AM, 60-90 minutes.
Title: FORGOTTEN FAVORITES OF CHILDHOOD
Participants: Janet Wilson Anderson
K. A. Bedford
Rachel Manija Brown
Garth Nix
Amy Thomson(M)
Precis: What books and stories do you remember best from childhood?
Our panelists talk about their favorites and ask about
yours.
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Panel 6: Fri 8/25 2:30 PM, 60-90 minutes.
Title: SF IN AUSTRALIA
Participants: K. A. Bedford
David Cake
Sean McMullen(M)
Jonathan Strahan
Sean Williams
Precis: Australian authors and fans talk about the works being
generated down under and how they differ -- if at all --
from what's created in the US and elsewhere.
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Panel 7: Fri 8/25 4:00 PM, 60-90 minutes.
Title: MYSTERIES & SCIENCE FICTION
Participants: K. A. Bedford
Jon L. Breen(M)
Barbara Hambly
Charlaine Harris
John Maddox Roberts
Precis: Lots of science fiction writers also write mysteries:
Vance, Brackett, Kuttner, Boucher. Some, like Niven, have
written science fiction mysteries. Is there something
inherently linking the two genres or is it just
wide-ranging tastes and interests?
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Panel 8: Sat 8/26 1:00 PM, 60-90 minutes.
Title: MOVIES THAT CHANGED MY LIFE
Participants: Chris M. Barkley
K. A. Bedford []
Alan Dean Foster
MaryAnn Johanson(M)
Fiona Patton
Precis: Some movies have a profound effect on people. Come here
from our panelists which movies had a major effect on them
and share your own stories.
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Panel 10: Sun 8/27 11:30 AM, 60-90 minutes.
Title: THE AUTHOR/EDITOR RELATIONSHIP
Participants: K. A. Bedford [adrian.bedford@gmail.com]
Louise Marley [lmarley@aol.com]
Betsy Mitchell [bmitchell@randomhouse.com]
Precis: What makes a book great? Where does the editor's input
begin? Where does it end? When does the author have to
assert his/her creative authority? Are the relationships
between editor and author today like they were years ago?
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Panel 11: Sun 8/27 2:00 PM, 60 minutes.
Title: READING: K. A. Bedford
Participants: K. A. Bedford [adrian.bedford@gmail.com]
Precis:
This is 9 items (I withdrew from two panels that I wasn't that crazy about), far more than I was expecting. For a while, earlier this year, despite sending two application emails to Programming, I was pretty sure I'd missed out. But no! This is more programming than I've had to do previously. It's a little intimidating, I must say. Gleep!
Posted by adrian at 04:15 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack